- The fight spilled over onto the sideline in the third game.
- Several stars of the Nine were front and center
- Two players have been suspended
Several Channel Nine stars were nearly engulfed in the wild brawl that broke out on the sidelines of Wednesday night’s State of Origin match, including pregnant football reporters Allana Ferguson and Emma Lawrence.
The brawl created football history when New South Wales striker Cameron Murray became the first player to be disciplined while off the field after coming across the chaos while on the bench.
And the Blues’ 19th player, Haumole Olakau’atu, who was wearing a suit, was banished to the dressing room after also being involved in the clash.
Ferguson, Lawrence, fellow outfielder Danika Mason and broadcaster James Bracey were at risk of being swamped by players as they fought. The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Bracey posted a video on Instagram with the words ‘Lads I’m trying to watch the football!’ showing support staff hitting him and trying to break up the confrontation, which began when Daly Cherry-Evans and Jarome Luai exchanged slaps near the sideline.
Her coffee went flying during the altercation, which also took out a TV screen and some chairs as she made her way towards the area where Nine’s on-air talent and production crew were stationed.
Mason also posted a video showing the players fighting just inches away from her, accompanied by the caption: “The decider! It doesn’t get any closer than this.”
Lawrence revealed the news of her baby just before the first game of this year’s Origin series.
Nine-time star James Bracey’s video showed him being hit as the Origin brawl spilled over the sideline into an area where he and some of his colleagues were stationed.
Bracey’s co-star Emma Lawrence, who announced her pregnancy just before the first game of this year’s series, was also caught up in the wild scenes.
Pregnant football pundit Allana Ferguson (pictured with Bracey) was also front and centre as the Maroons and Blues entered the chaotic clash.
“The off-season is about to get busy! We can’t wait to meet you little one,” she posted on Instagram, accompanying a picture of the baby’s ultrasound scan and her boyfriend, who is a senior producer for Channel Nine’s rugby league coverage.
Ferguson opened up about her experience with IVF in 2022 and revealed that she is set to become a mother for the third time on Instagram earlier this week, writing “We can’t wait to love and kiss you forever” in a post that features a video of her showing her ultrasound photo to daughter Parker and son Zave.
In a dramatic postscript to the Blues’ first series win in three years, both Murray and Olakau’atu were hit with grade three contrary conduct charges on Thursday for running off the NSW bench to join the brawl.
Murray and Olakau’atu entered guilty pleas early on Thursday night, avoiding taking the fight to court and risking a third game on the sidelines.
Their pleas came despite South Sydney and Manly officials being frustrated that breaches in Origin will now affect their club seasons and hopes of reaching finals.
Eight other players were fined and the NRL was desperate to send a message after a brawl spilled over the sideline and into exercise bikes and TV monitors.
Jeremiah Nanai, Brian To’o, Reuben Cotter and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow were each fined $6,000 for their roles in the brawl in the first half of the Blues’ 14-4 victory.